23: GUEST - Miranda Wang, Novoloop

NOTE: For our last guest lecturer, and for the last time this semester, we will combine the two 10:15a sections in 217 Towne today. Please report to 217 Towne so we may begin promptly at 10:15a.

Miranda Wang is a venture-backed climate tech entrepreneur and the co-founder & CEO of Novoloop (formerly known as Biocellection), an emerging leader in plastic circularity, transforming post-consumer plastic waste into the world’s first chemically Lifecycled™ performance materials. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the venture-backed start-up has raised $50M to date and is building and scaling new technologies to reinvent the chemical value chain.

Her work in the plastics circular economy space began after visiting the Vancouver South Waste Transfer Station, as featured in award-winning documentary film “In Love With A Problem”. What started as a science fair project with high school best friend Jeanny Yao, who later became her cofounder, led to a speaking opportunity at the TED2013 Conference on an idea to break down plastic waste. In 2015, Novoloop was founded with the backing of Bill Liao from SOSVentures and over $150,000 in grant funding awarded through the UPenn and Wharton entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Miranda ’s career has been highlighted by numerous organizations and awards including Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018 at the age of 24, Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award, UN Young Champions of the Earth, World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, Hurun Under 30, Rolex Awards for Enterprise, Echoing Green Climate Fellowship, TIME magazine’s “Women Who Will Save The World” and Entrepreneur magazine’s “100 Women of Influence.”

Miranda lives in San José, CA with her husband Robert and son, Robert Jr. She is an avid gardener with plans for establishing a botanical garden later in her life. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts & Sciences with a BA in Molecular Biology and Engineering Entrepreneurship and Philosophy minors. Miranda started Biocellection while at Penn and won all five major awards of the Wharton Startup Challenge, including being the first undergraduate ever to win the Perelman Grand Prize.

Explore the Novoloop website at https://www.novoloop.comL and websites of other companies with Novoloop is working.

Based on the websites, any other secondary information resources, and applicable insights you have learned this semester from EAS5450, prepare a list of 5 questions to ask Miranda during the Q&A session following hertalk. Submit your questions online via the course web site prior to class. You may want to have your questions available for your own reference during the Q&A session.

Grading for today’s assignment will be based on the amount of research effort and thought that you put into developing your questions as evident by the quality of your questions. Vague or generic questions that are not specific to our guest speaker’s situation are subject to grading penalties (will not earn more than a 5 or 6). Your participation during the Q&A session is important.

Out of courtesy to our speaker plan to arrive at class a few minutes early so the class can begin on time without interruption.